1 86 PA THOLOG Y OF GESTA TION. 



was only separated by the omen^tum and its own membranes, which were not ruptured. 

 Two large unaltered clots of blood were discovered between the anterior extremities of 

 the fcEtal membranes. The uterus maintained its natural situation, but it was con- 

 tracted, and rent from its cervix to the middle of its left cornu. The borders of the 

 rupture were red, swollen, and rounded : but the interior of the organ did not exhibit 

 any trace of inflammation. 



The cause of the accident was unknown, 



3. On June 8, 1843, Arnal {Joiirnal dcs Vet. du Midi, 1843, p. 331) was summoned to 

 attend a Cow which had been ijl since the previous evening, when, about half an horn- 

 before it was noticed to be unwell, it had playfully jumped a wide ditch, though it was 

 advanced in pregnancy. Soon after it voluntarily returned to its stable, covered with 

 perspiration. In consequence of there being no straining, the case was supposed to 

 be merely one of " chill," though the creature was very ill indeed-. Next day it was 

 worse ; the vulva was swollen, and there was slight straining. The hand introduced 

 into the vagina discovered the " water-bag," in which the head of a foetus could be 

 readily distinguished. On the membranes being ruptured, only about half a litre of 

 fluid escaped ; the foetus was alive, and in a vertebro-pubic position, the limbs being 

 doubled on the chest. These were placed in a favorable direction, and by means of 

 moderate traction the calf was born alive. 



The Cow appeared to be much better, and it was hoped that recovery would' ensue ; 

 but all at once its condition became most serious, and in spite of every measure it per- 

 ished on June 1 1. When opened, the abdomen was found to contain about ten litres of 

 sanguinolent serosity, and the peritoneum was much injected ; while the uterus, whose 

 walls were considerably thickened, showed at its lower surface, near the cervix, a rup- 

 ture four centimetres in circumference, the border of which was red and violet in 

 color, and greatly tumefied. The uterine mucous membrane was reddish-brown, and 

 studded with ecchymoses. The vagina and vulva did not offer any thing unusual. 



4. Presseq {jfourjial des Vet. dti Midi, 1849, P- 35^) saw a Cow on March 4, 1846, which 

 the owner said could not calve. There was nothing, however, to indicate that partu- 

 rition was near : the vulva was not swollen, the gluteal muscles had not sunk, the abdo- 

 men was round, the flanks were full as high as the transverse processes of lumbar ver- 

 tebrae ; and when the hand was introduced with some difficulty into the vagina, the os 

 uteri was found to be hermetically closed. Presseq concluded that the animal was not 

 near calving, and promised to see it again next day. It died during the night. At the 

 autopsy, the first thing which attracted Presseq's attention, on opening the abdomen, 

 was a foetus, with its envelopes, lying on the walls of that cavity, and but recently dead, 

 as the hair was intact and adherent, and the liquor amnii very limpid. On examining 

 the uterus, he noticed only a small perforation about four centimetres in diameter, the 

 margin of which was so completely cicatrized, smooth, and even, as to give it more the 

 appearance of a natural than an accidental opening. The body of the uterus was con- 

 tracted, and had lost much of its capacity. Presseq learned that, two inonths pre- 

 viously, this Cow and another had drawn a load of barley to the neighboring market, 

 and in passing a stall they took fright and ran away, and were not stopped until the cart 

 was upset. But the animal did not appear to be any the worse until this illness set in. 

 The other Cow gave birth to a fine calf. To this accident, two months before, Presseq 

 attributed the rupture of the uterus, and the escape of the foetus into the alDdominal 

 cavity. 



5. "Boizy {Recueil de Med. Veterinaire, 1863, p. 272), called to see a Cow on February 

 8, 1863, noted the following symptoms : general tremors, colic, incessant pawing, slight 

 tympanitis, inappetence, frequent groans, and faeces very hard and covered with mucus. 

 He diagnosed enteritis, complicated with indigestion. By suitable treatment the ani- 

 mal appeared to recover, but on March 8 it had a relapse ; the more urgent symptoms 

 were allayed by similar treatment, but it never quite recovered, and lost condition. On 

 the 28th of the same month this Cow, whose time for calving was April 4, evinced the 

 first signs of parturition. On the 29th, Boizy found it straining must violently, and a 

 portion of the foetal membranes extruded from the vulva. Exploring the vagina, no 

 calf could be felt, and supposing it had been already born, search was made for it among 

 the litter and in the shed, but without success. Boizy again examined the vagina and 

 uterus, and was struck by a circumstance which he had not before remarked : the in- 

 ternal capacity of the latter organ was not one half what it should have been had de- 

 livery occurred only a short time previously. He began to separate the maternal and 

 foetal cotyledons on the lower surface, an^ on I'eaching the upper part, a little to the 

 right, he \vas much astonished to encounter a sinuous ring the size of a fist, directed 

 obliquely forwards and from right to left, and measuring about twenty centimetres in 

 length ; 'to this the chorion was attached in the closet fashion, and the membrane ex- 

 tended from it in a folded manner, like a half-open fan. This was the opening by which 

 the foetus had passed into the abdominal cavity. The removal of the membranes was 



